Okay, this cake ended up just about giving me a stroke by the end of it. I made a lemon flavored white cake that was really delicious and I will probably end up making that recipe again because not only did it taste great, it also had a great consistency to use for stacking or creating tiers. All I did was use 2 regular white cake mixes and added the zest of 2 whole lemons and the juice from 4 whole lemons. This was enough batter to make 2-10 inch round cakes.
The icing for the cake was where my anger began. I made a simple buttercream made from 2 sticks of butter and 16 cups of powdered sugar. This was enough to fill, ice and decorate the 2-10 inch cakes both cut in half. Instead of using water or milk to thin down the icing, I added margarita mix. The icing was delicious, but I think I might have thinned it down too much because when I went to decorate it, the heat from my hands completely melted it and I ended up having a sort of tie-dyed red and yellow effect.
I was unable to get the mini-mold pan in time to make the sombrero hat on the top and I couldn't find the margarita candles at any of the sorry excuse for craft stores in my town, but I found some other cute fiesta themed candles, so that turned out okay. Also, I bought some cute little plastic jalapenos in different colors and stuck those all over the cake as well.
Overall, the cake turned out alright, it tasted wonderful, but I was so unhappy with the way it looked that I didn't even take any pictures of it to show to you all, sorry!! I'm going to be making the Wilton castle cake this week for my nieces, so I'll be sure to post lots of pictures of that to make up for this disaster!
Stella McCartney
Pratt's
Hugo Boss
your sister is lucky that you took so much time to do that for her! and as far as not turning thirty... ha! i've been have my 29th birthday for a few years now too! good for her!
1Yeah, I think she enjoyed it even though not everything turned out the way I wanted.
2When you use powdered sugar, you have to be very, very stingy with the liquid ingredients. Even if you have a recipe from a known source, add the liquid a little a time and WAIT for the partial addition to be absorbed before adding a little more and waiting some more. It's a fine line between the right amount of liquid and too much liquid.
Making icing like yours on a hot and humid day can really mess it up. If there is a storm in the air, avoid making the icing. Check the weather report! If it's not a clear day, try a cooked or commercially made frosting. Seriously. Sugar is a 'water hog', it will absorb moisture from any source to which it is exposed- even the air.
Icing is a tricky thing to make. The nature of sugar to absorb water works against you in a frosting like the one you made. The rule about humid days is very relevant to your icing. While there is corn starch in powdered sugar that should be absorbing the liquid and helping to bind the icing, if it's humid out, or it there's too much liquid in the icing, the sugar will selfishly trap the majority of the moisture, making it difficult for the starch to gel and hold the frosting together.
An more 'stable' frosting is one that is 'cooked'. Look up cooked frosting recipes to see if you can find one that suits your taste (some require Crisco - I never use it). You can still substitute your margarita mix for the liquid in a cooked frosting recipe.
For best results, be sure to use a cane sugar. If your sugar product doesn't say its cane sugar, it probably isn't, so your results may vary. Most recipes have been developed with cane sugar. Spend a little more for something that will provide you more dependable results.
3BTW, margarita mix is basically a syrup. It adds extra sugar to your icing. That can contribute to the 'water hogging' sugar reaction. Margarita mix is basically lime juice, triple sec liqueur and sugar. I suggest you skip the mix, and try using some fresh lime juice (and triple sec if you have it). The acid will help keep your icing from cracking as it dries. You'll have to test the flavor, but the results may be more stable.
4oops, sorry, there's no triple sec in commercial margarita mix. But there is triple sec in a Margarita.
5It sounds delicious even if it didn't turn out the way you wanted to ash! I would have been super frustrated too so its all good. Tie dye effects can be really pretty.
I can't wait to see how the castle cake turns out!
6Thanks for your advise, yabbi. It was very humid that day, but I live in Georgia, so it's been humid everyday for a while. Also, there were a lot of people in my house that day which made it hotter than usual too.
7It sounds delicious, but Im sorry the icing gave you so much trouble. Im disappointed I wasnt able to see the pictures.
Im sure you are a better cake artist than all of us!
Cant wait to see the next cake...
8Oh Ash I'm sorry, I know how excited you were about it! but all in all I think that it was such a thoughtful and loving gesture on your part and it turned out great anyways so I'm sure your sis appreciated all your hard work. So it didn't look like the pic, who cares, it was still yummy and full of love, and that's all that matters
9_________________________
Don't worry 'bout a ting!
I know how frustrating it can be when a dish doesn't come out as you had expected, so I'm sorry. Keep on baking though, practice makes perfect. Maybe you should give the marg cake another try in winter!
10Maybe so. Thanks for all your support, I'm over it now, and she and the rest of the guests liked it anyway. It wasn't THAT bad, it just didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. It was still okay.
11I'd love a piece of that cake!
12_________________________
Don't worry 'bout a ting!
Well, maybe if you're REAAAAALLLLLYYYY nice, I'll send you a birthday cake, but you're going to have to wait another whole entire year to get it, sorry!
13bwwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
14_________________________
Don't worry 'bout a ting!
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